A bit different, and blog candy!

Just managing to scrape in again for this week's Tuesday Taggers, where the challenge is to use a jigsaw piece in your artwork. I puzzled over it for some time, and then decided for a change to make some earrings. Long time ago, before I started cardmaking (ie. about 20 years ago!!), I was into jewellery making, but haven't done any for ages, so this project has definitely used old stash! The two pieces I used to make the earrings are from a real old jigsaw which was destined never to be made up again as it had many pieces missing. I've no idea what the picture was, as the remaining pieces were given to me in a plastic bag, but I'd guess it was an old countryside scene. The colours were quite dark, so first of all I painted them with a white Ranger Acrylic Dabber. Next I coloured them with Brilliance inks and overstamped with my current favourite Hero Arts flourish stamp. The backs and edges were covered with a black Promarker. I gave them a top coat of clear embossing to protect them before making them up into earrings.

They are displayed on an ATC stamped with the same Hero Arts flourish. The words are by Inkadinkado and Papermania, and the tiny butterfly is also by Inkadinkado. The butterfly jigsaw piece was made with a clear peel-off sticker over an image from the latest Crafty Individuals Miniatures book: "Nature's Beauty".

I didn't have a recipient in mind when I made them, so I have decided to give them away as Blog Candy. (I hardly ever wear earrings!) If you'd like to win them, please leave me a comment, (or even better, become a follower if you are not already, though that is optional!) before next Monday, Feb 8th. Mr. Random.org will choose the winner. Please note, if the winner does not have pierced ears, I can change the fittings to suit.

Now I'm off on Brenda's blog hop (see my previous post for details).

Special Challenge and Blog Hop!

On the first of  February, Brenda will be organising a Special one-off Challenge and Blog Hop! The main prize will be "mega" candy - not just any old candy, but a really serious piece of kit! Not only that, but as well as the main challenge prize, there will be runners up prizes and a Blog Hop with prizes to be won at each stopping point. Brenda will be giving sneak peeks of the prizes over the next three weeks, so hop along to her Blog to get all the details.

There will even be prizes for spreading the news, so to get yourselves in the draw for those, just put the links in your own blog - see Brenda's for what to do. The more people who join in, the more fun it will be!

(This post will - or should, if I've done it right! - stay at the top until the 1st of Feb, so please scroll down for new posts in the meantime.)

Last chance to take part in The Stampman Blog Hop!

The Stamp Man Blog Hop closes at midnight tonight! If you haven't joined in yet, you can still do it by starting from Jill's Blog. Lots of lovely prizes to be won, and fantastic inspiration to be seen on the blogs along the way. Still time to enter the Awards too.

It's been great fun, and many thanks to Jill for organising it. Looking forward to the next one!

Happy New Year everyone!

Well, last post for 2009. No picture to show, I'm afraid. I had hoped to get some crafting done this week before we go back to school. However, my daughter bought me a jigsaw for Christmas, and once I start something like that, I have to get it finished. It's in the shape of a butterfly, all filled in with hundreds of butterflies, and it's proving fiendishly difficult. The main problem is that it's a lot bigger than it said on the box. I had to put it on a board on my desk, and I can't move it until it's done, as the board would only fit through the door on its side! So I haven't got any space left to craft in.

Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone in Blogland a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year, and to say thank you to everyone who has left such wonderful comments during the Stamp Man Blog Hop (which is still ongoing, until Jan 3rd - scroll down to the previous post for details), also thank you and welcome to my lovely new followers. To all of you who have followed, commented on or otherwise supported my blog this year, a huge thanks. It is very much appreciated.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

The Stamp Man Blog Hop, Candy, and Award Event

The Stampman Blog Hop, Candy and Award Event is now open! To join the fun, you need to visit each participating blog in turn, beginning with Jill's at The Stamp Man. You should have come to mine from Christine's (Ladylace's Crafting Space), and the next one to visit is

Pat's (Pats Card Making Passion).

There are lots of fantastic prizes to be won. If you haven't reached mine from Christine's, I'd suggest you go back to Jill's (The Stamp Man Blog) to start from the beginning. Each blog you visit will give you a code letter and tell you about about one of the prizes. You'll need to collect all the letters and at the end email your final answer to Jill. The last port of call will take you back to The Stamp Man blog which will tell you how to do that.

The code letter for my blog is  U

The prize is 400 ASSORTED ROUND BRADS.

To be eligible for a prize you will need to leave a comment on ALL the blogs in the hop.

Now about the Awards! These are to showcase everyone's best project from 2009! This is what it will look like! All the details are on The Stamp Man Blog, so hop over there to find out how to take part.


I think my own favourite project was the one I did back in June, where I made two cards using exactly the same design but with completely different colouring  and style. One was sweet and simple, the other grungy! It was really interesting to compare the effects. Most people seemed to prefer the grungy version. Here are the cards. To see how I made them, check out the post here.

Anyway, I'll let you go off and get started. The Event will end at midnight GMT on Sunday 3rd January. Don't forget to post your link on The Stamp Man Blog to your best project, and hop around all the blogs! I hope you have lots of fun on the way!

The Stamp Man Blog Hop, Candy, and Award Event

Jill at The Stamp Man is organising a post-Christmas Blog Hop, Candy and Award Event. It's going to be great fun, with awards and giveaways, and it will run for a week from Sunday 27th December to Sunday 3rd January. Read what Jill has to say about it by clicking on the link in my side bar, and please spread the word by posting the news on your own blogs, because the more people who join in, the better!

The main thing to remember for now is that it will all begin next Sunday, the 27th December  on The Stamp Man Blog, so make sure you check in there then to get all the instructions. Hope to see you all there!